Cathead



' Sept. 15, 1942;

w. s. CAMPBELL ETAL 2,295,932

cm HEAD Filed March e, 1941 :s Sheets-Sheet 1 mvENToRsi Mann 5. CZMP ML rfAMzs M Jay/wan li 1 1 2- B. CAMPBELL Em 2,295,932

CAT HEAD Filed March 6, 1941 1 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 I INVENTORS'. MLLJ'AM E CAMPBELL 1 JAMES M Jaime By zzgqw Patented Sept. 15, 1942 CATHEAD William B.

Campbell and James M. Johnson,

Great Bend, Kansas.

Application March 6, 1941, Serial No. 382,014

2 Claims.

Our invention relates to new and useful improvements in a cat head for coupling and disconnecting sections of oil well rotary drill stems, and has for its principal object to eliminate spinhing line hazard heretofore experienced at the time of coupling and disconnecting the sections of a rotary drilling stem, and furthermore to minimize the number of operators required in such cases.

A further object of our invention is to provide a cat head having an automatic disengaging means to stop rotation of the cab-1e drum at a predetermined wind of the cable, whereby eXcessive spinning of the joint of the stem to remove or connect the same is eliminated.

A still further object of our invention is to provide a spirally grooved drum in which to seat the cable as wound on the drum, and furthermore to provide an automatic disengaging element for the drum clutch, said element being conveyed by the drum grooves in advance of the cable winds, and the said clutch being arranged for a separate control manually operated. 7

These and other objects will hereinafter be more fully explained, reference being had to the accompanying drawingsforming a part of this specification, and in which apply to like parts in the different views.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the cat head in working relation to the well and derrick.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of Fig. 1, the derrick fragmentarily shown.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the cat head.

Fig. 4 is a side view of Fig. 3.

Fig; 5 is an end view of the cat head opposite the clutch.

Fig. 5-A is a plan view of a modified arrangement to guide the free end of the striker to its point of engagement on the clutch lever, parts removed for convenience of illustration.

Fig, 6 is a sectional view taken on line 66 in Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view diametrically of the drum, clutch, and bearings.

Fig. 8 is a plan view to illustrate our spinning cat head carried by a countershaft geared to the original cat head shaft, and further illustrating the tong connection actuated by the spinning line.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail of the brake for the spinning line cat head.

Our invention herein disclosed consists of a spinning line cat head comprised of a drum porlike characters will tion I, that is grooved spirally as at A, the grooves adapted to receive a spinning line 2 seating there'- in as the drum turns. The said drum has on one end thereof a flange 3 outwardly extending from the periphery of the drum body, and a similar flange 4, last said flange increased in width and being hollow to form a brake drum 5 in which is positioned a plurality of brake shoe sectors 6 later described.

The said drum is trunnioned on a shaft 1 through the medium of ball bearings, there being one bearing at each end of the drum comprised of ball races 8 and 9, the latter being secured rigid to the shaft, while race 8 is secured rigid to the drum, the races being filled withballs as shown in Fig. '7, the ball bearings being means to eliminate friction for-end thrust of the drum. Each end of said drum has a head l0 spaced outward from its respective ball bearing and having between said heads and bearings a fibrous packing H to render the heads oil'tight, as said drum is adapted to contain lubricant therein as an automatic oiling means for the bearings. Extending through one end of the drum between its flange and head is an aperture l2 communicating with the hollow of the drum, the outer end of the aperture being equipped with a zerk through which lubricant is injected to fill or partially fill the hollow of the drum.

Secured to the derrick on one side adjacent its base is a pair of jack posts l3 spaced apart and on which said shaft is trunnioned through the medium of appropriate boxings l4, and the said shaft has a collar 15 secured thereto adjacent the outer end of each boxing, whereby longitudinal movement of the shaft is eliminated. The said collars are adjustably secured to permit moving of the shaft for longitudinal adjustment and being secured by set screws l6 threadedly engaging in the collars, while their inner ends seat snugly on the shaft.

In Figs. 1 and 2 is shown one position of. the spinning cat head and a plane drum cat head l'| secured adjacent the outer end of'the shaft, last said cat head adapted for drawwork and being secured to the shaft and rotatable therewith, said plane drum cat head being of conventional type for the purpose above stated and equipped with a conventional clutch and lever l1 tooperate the clutch.

Shaft 1 has a sprocket wheel l8 secured'thereto and a belt chain IS in mesh therewith, the said belt chain outwardly extending and motor driven as actuating means for the shaft and cat heads carried thereon, the motor not being shown in,

the drawings.

It will be seen that the cable wound on the grooved drum has one of its ends secured to the flange of the drum by a U-clamp 20 to bind the end of the cable to the drum, and the said cable is adapted to be wound on the shaft of a drill stem section 2|, the lower end of which is threaded externally to threadedly engage with a coupling 22 on one end of each succeeding section of the stem, the cable being wound thereon, as above stated, is means to frictionally engage to spin the section for its threaded engagement in the coupling. The free end portion of the cable as at B extends outward to be tensioned by an operator for snug engagement on the stem section while the cat head in its rotation will turn the section. It will be understood that by a right hand wind of the cable on the stem section is means to remove said section from an adjoining section, and by a left hand wind is means to connect the joints of stem sections by screwing the same together. Furthermore one operator may be sufiicient to manipulate the cable and clutch of the cat head. It will also be seen and understood that a turn table 23 of conventional type is placed axial with the well and through which the drilling stem extends and being clamped thereby against rotation as the stem sections are being connected or removed from each other.

The clutch above referred to consists of a plurality of brake shoe sectors 6 to engage frictionally with the interior of the drum when the clutch is engaged to turn said drum in rotation with the shaft. Secured to the shaft against rotation thereon is a collar 24, said collar having oppositely disposed slots 25 extending through the Wall thereof, and a pin 26 secured to the shaft and outwardly extending through each slot, by which means, the said collar is free to move longitudinal on the shaft toward and from the brake drum, and the said collar and each shoe sector has ears 2! correspondingly and toggle elements 28 pivotally connecting the corresponding ears of the collar and shoe sectors, there being one adjacent each end of the sectors, by which means when the collar is moved toward the drum head the sectors are thrust outward to engagement with the wall of the brake drum to turn the same, with the shaft.

As a convenient means to engage the clutch there is provided a collar 29 slidable on said shaft 7 in working relation to the outer end of the clutch collar 24, said collar 29 being moved by a yoked lever 30, the legs of the yoke to straddle the collar so that through their respective funneled apertured ears 3|, rockably, the said lever being rockably connected to a guide bar 32, the outer free end of the lever to function as a handle to engage the clutch.

To normally disengage the clutch when the lever is released there is wound on the shaft a spring 33 to engage with the inner end of the clutch collar and head of the drum, the tension of which is sufiicient to move said clutch collar outward. There is also provided an annular flange 34 secured to the open or outer end of the brake drum adjacent which the shoe sectors will strike to retract the same from engagement with the wall of the drum uniformly.

As an automatic means to disengage the clutch at a predetermined number of revolutions of the cat head there is provided a striker, subdivided longitudinally, consisting of portions 35 and 35', for the purpose later described, one end of the striker being adjustably secured to a clip 36 that slidably engages on said bar 32, and the said clip their ends will extend having an upper apertured extension C through which one end portion of the striker will extend slidably, and being secured at a predetermined point by a set screw 31 threadedly engaging and in contact with the striker for one adjustment, the other adjustment being accomplished by a turn buckle 38 connecting the adjacent ends of the portions to vary the length thereof as a whole so that the free end of the striker will engage with the lever between its pivot point and bifurcation to disengage the clutch automatically at a predetermined time as above stated. The longitudinal movement of the striker toward and from the clutch lever is accomplished by a yoke structure 39 circular in form and having a shank D substantially secured to the upper end of the clip and carried thereby, the circular portion being cylindrical with respect to cross section seating in the grooves of the drum to convey the striker structure .to a point of engagement with the lever. It will now be seen that the said circular portion will move longitudinal of the drum in advance of the cable that is wound in the grooves of the drum, and it will also be seen that an apertured ear 46 extends downward from ,the lower extremity of the clip so that the cable running from the drum to the drill stem will extend through the aperture, thereby coacting with the yoke vto convey the striker and furthermore as a guide to direct the cable to engagement with the grooves as the cat head turns.

As a means to avoid retraction or backward turn of our spinning line cat head at the time of setting the line on the drill stem and at the instant of releasing the clutch, there is arranged a brake consisting of a cylindrical housing 4| in which is positioned a brake plunger 42 tensioned by a coil spring 3 arranged to engage on the inner end of the plunger and seating on a disc 45., said disc pivotedly carried by a wheel screw 35 threadedly engaging in the head of the housing whereby tension of the plunger on the periphery of flange 3 may be varied as the case may require, and the said housing being carried on one end of an arm 46 extending longitudinal of the cat head, the other end of said arm being secured to a bracket ll that is secured to the jack post I3. While the drawings show the brake applied to flange 3, the same may be applied in most cases to the outer periphery of the clutch drum to eliminate excess length.

As a convenient means to receive the end of the striker the yoke lever is bifurcated, the upper member of which has one end rigidly joined to the yoke while the other end is positioned outward and upward from the lever to align and receive the force of the striker, being so arranged, the said upper leg may function as a cushion to avoid the solid stroke but being capable of rocking the lever to positively disengage the clutch at its timed movement.

It will be seen in Fig. 5A a modified arrangement for the striker to insure its contact with the brake lever, the modification consisting of a sleeve 43 as a guide for the free end of the striker as it moves toward and from the lever, said sleeve having one end secured rigid to said lever as carrying means for the sleeve. It will also be understood that the lever as illustrated in said Fig. 5-A, the bifurcation is removed, consequently the said lever is raised to axial alignment with the striker and pivotedly connected to a bracket 49 that is secured to the jack post on a higher plane than bar 32 by a bolt 50, or by welding the bracket to the post.

In Fig. 8 is illustrated a modified arrangement to trunnion the cat head on the opposite side of the jack post to that of shaft 1 through the medium of a shaft 5| having appropriate bearings 52, in which instance power is transmitted from shaft 1 to shaft 5| through the medium of a belt chain 53 in mesh with sprocket wheels 54 and 55 secured to their respective shafts 1 and 5|. It will also be seen in said Fig. 8 the method of operating a tong 56 as a final tightening means for a drill section to the coupling 22, at which time the tension of line B is released by its operator transmitting the torque from the cat head to the outer end of the tongs to turn the pipe to snug engagement, which is accomplished by the movement of the tong to a position as shown by dotted lines, at which instant, the clutch is disengaged to avoid further tension by the line, it being seen that lines 2, B, and 51 are connected by a link element 58 provided with eyes F, in which their respective cables are secured substantially as shown. It will be understood in the above mode of operation that stem section is first screwed to near its threaded extremity into the coupling 22 by the spinning line 2, during which action the section is free to turn in the jaws of the tong as the slant of the teeth point with the turning direction of the section, however when portion B of the cable is released the section will remain idle until portion 2 and portion 51 of the cable are in straight alignment with respect to each other, at which time the tong is moved against the slant of its teeth, gripping the stem section as turning means therefor to jerk the threaded connection of the stem section and the coupling to snug engagement through the medium of increased leverage obtained by the use of the tongs.

Modifications may be made as lie within the scope of the appended claims.

Having fully described our invention what We claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a cat head for coupling and uncoupling drill stem sections, the cat head comprising a spirally grooved drum having a flange on each end of the drum and a cable to engage in the grooves, a clutch to function with one of the flanges of the drum and a lever to engage the clutch, a driveshaft secured to the clutch and. axially extending through the drum as turning means therefor when the clutch is engaged with its respective flange, jack posts and bearings secured thereto, the driveshaft being journalled in the bearings, and power means to turn the shaft, a bracket carried by the jack post adjacent said clutch, an arm having one of it's ends secured to the bracket extending longitudinally of the drum and across the peripheral face of the other flange, a plunger spring pressed secured to the arm where it crosses the other flange, the plunger to frictionally engage with said other flange to function as a continuous brake for the drum, a bar having one end secured to the jack post adjacent the clutch and extending longitudinal of the drum and in parallelism therewith, and to which the clutch engaging lever is rockably mounted, a clip engaging and slidable longitudinally on the bar, and opertured ear secured to the clip, receiving the cable slidable through the aperture as moving means for the clip, a yoke integrally joined to the clip, the yoke being semi-circular in form seating in a groove of the drum and coacting with the cable to move the clip, a striker adjustable longitudinal being carried by the clip and extending toward the clutch lever for engagement therewith at a predetermined instant to automatically disengage the clutch.

2. In a cat head for coupling and uncoupling drill stem sections, the cat head comprising a spirally grooved drum having a flange on each end of the drum and a cable to engage in the grooves, a clutch to function with one of the flanges of the drum, and means to engage the clutch with its respective flange of the drum, a driveshaft secured to the clutch and axially extending through the drum as turning means therefor when the clutch is engaged with its respective flange, jack posts and bearings secured thereto, and the shaft being journalled in the bearings, power means to turn the shaft, a bracket carried by the jack post adjacent said clutch, an arm and means to secured the arm to said bracket, said arm extending longitudinally of the drum and across the peripheral face of the other flange, means carried by the free end of the arm where it crosses the other flange to frictionally engage with said other flange to function as a continuous brake for the drum, a bar having one end secured to the jack post adjacent the clutch and extending longitudinal of the drum and in parallelism therewith, and to which the clutch engaging means is mounted, a clip engaging and slidable longitudinally on the bar, two separate means carried by the clip as moving means for the clip, and another means adjustably arranged and carried by the clip to disengage the clutch at a predetermined instant.

WILLIAM B. CAMPBELL. JAMES M. JOHNSON. 

